Many different types of automated brewing appliances have been developed to rapidly produce hot brewed beverages. One of the most common arrangements is to provide a water reservoir which drains into a heated conduit. As water within the conduit is heated, it expands and is forced from the heated conduit into a brewing chamber where it is distributed over coffee grounds or tea leaves. The resulting brewed beverage then drains directly from the brewing chamber into a pitcher or carafe which is placed underneath the brewing chamber. Another common arrangement is to position the heated conduit underneath a platform on which the pitcher is held in order to transfer some heat to the pitcher and the beverage contents.
Some disadvantages with this type of design are that the brewing chamber must be made to extend out over the pitcher platform. When the pitcher is removed from the heated platform, excess liquid in the brewing chamber may drip directly onto the platform. Also, the brewing chamber and the pitcher platform generally extend out in front of the appliance, requiring the water reservoir to be at the back and therefore somewhat difficult to access and fill. Also, the pitcher or carafe must be made of a heat resistant material such as glass or metal, and is therefore not typically insulated with less heat resistant materials such as plastic and foam.